Damo Ancient Cave is a natural stone cave, which is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. It is an excellent place to overlook the Yangtze River with its deep caves, winding paths, locating at the mouth of the river and in the hillside between the steep cliffs.



Legend has it that in the Liang Dynasty, Bodhidharma, an Indian monk, had rested in this cave on his way to the Shaolin Temple after being neglected in Jinling(Nanjing), that is why it is called the Dharma Cave. The Dharma Cave is dome-shaped, and there are several inlaid stele grooves and shrines around the cave walls. After arriving in Luoyang, Dharma lived in Shaolin Temple on Mount Songshan. He worked hard to study Buddhism and eventually became the father of Zen Buddhism.